DAISY CARPET

It has been cold enough in recent days for this photo to be of snow lying on the ground. In fact it is the eyecatching carpet of daisies growing in the country park, as seen on Wednesday 16th. The grass has been slow to grow here but the daisies have decided that spring is here. They say that if you can place your foot on the ground and it can cover more than 12 daisy flowers, then spring has arrived!

One or two migrants continue to trickle onto the Island in recent days despite the chilly breeze blowing. The first blackcap at the park was heard by the pond on Monday, while a willow warbler was heard singing from the car park. The same birds were still singing from the same areas the following day. A different willow warbler was singing from a different corner on Wednesday morning.The couple of swallows from Bromans Farm have been hunting over the park in recent days too, sometimes perching near the car park.

It was great to welcome back from Africa, one of the male nightingales back to the same spot that it has frequented for the last two summers. As I opened the park up on Thursday morning, the rich and very recognisable song was being belted out from a thicket of ivy and brambles. The bird had obviously just arrived during the night but still found the energy to sing out loud in the morning.

The sunny weather on Wednesday brought good numbers of adders out with a peak count this year of ten being seen in the park. Three of the adders had recently shed their skin and so their markings were really bright and very silvery-grey in the background colour. There was a much larger gathering of them in the traditional spot, so it would appear that some have come back to find a mate.

Butterflies have been hard to find this spring so far, although most recent days there have been one or two peacocks flying about in the warm, sheltered spots.

The Thorleys have seen male and female wheatears near the Youth Camp on Monday and Tuesday. Andy Field saw a whimbrel and a pair of avocets near the Point on Thursday.

AVOCET POOLS

More April showers on Sunday 13th interspersed with sunny periods and also the chilly breeze.
Following Andy Field's observations yesterday, checked out the saltmarsh pools near the Golfhouse, pictured above. Sure enough there were the avocets here again, except there were 6 birds present, so maybe three pairs may think of breeding here, as opposed to the two pairs last summer. Ten brent geese were seen flying over the saltings.

On the grazing fields a pair of swallows hawked back and forwards. A small group of 20 golden plover were hard to spot in the tussocky grass while other waders seen included 6 redshank, black-tailed godwit and the usual 3 pairs of lapwing. The mute swan looks as if she is sitting on her nest alongside the central ditch, the other swan at the pond has been sitting for about a week now.

Also in the fields close to the pools were 20 shoveler, 15 shelduck, 8 wigeon and 20 teal, while a kestrel hovered above one corner.

In the park there was the familiar sparrowhawk sighting of one flying over a nearby field. The only migrant of note was the singing chiffchaff by the pond.

Michael Thorley reported the first cuckoo for the Island near the East Mersea church.

DODGING SHOWERS

Managed to fit in an evening walk along the Reeveshall seawall without getting wet on Saturday 12th. The dark clouds weren't far away with the photo above showing the rain clouds passing to the north of Mersea.

The tide was just starting to uncover the mud along the Pyefleet and lots of waders were arriving from their roosts. Both species of godwit were present with 30 very pale bar-tailed godwits mixed in with about 50 black-tailed godwits - many in their ginger plumage. Also gathered were 100 dunlin, 30 grey plover, 100 redshank and 20 knot. It wasn't long before the waders had dispersed along the Pyefleet as more mud became exposed.

The biggest group of waders were about 1500 golden plover feeding in the nearby field of cattle. Many of the plovers were sporting the black bellies of their summer plumage. When something disturbed them, there was the slow whooshing sound as the birds passed overhead.

The only birds seen in the Pyefleet were 3 great crested grebes and a cormorant.


On the Reeveshall pool there were 15 shelduck, 6 teal, lapwing and some mallard. A green sandpiper flew around several times calling as it headed into some nearby ditches.
The presumed resident female marsh harrier was sitting on her favourite Reeveshall bush, getting ready for the breeding season. A male harrier was seen flying around on Langenhoe.

In one of the large grass fields a brown hare was seen running around as dusk approached.
At the back of Reeveshall a huge flock of 1000 wood pigeons flew around before many settled back down into a rape field.

Three little egrets were seen flying into the conifer wood at Shop Lane to spend the night. It seems as if this may be a regular roost site for the local egrets.
Earlier in the evening a chiffchaff was heard singing from this wood.
The last bird of the evening was a little owl that flew across Bromans Lane and perched up on a telegraph post in the fading light.

During the morning at the park, a willow warbler and chiffchaff were heard singing near the pond.Three adders were seen in their usual places.
Andy Field had a pair of swallows and 2 pairs of avocets near the Golfhouse.

PASSING HARRIER

Walked to the East Mersea Point, photo above, on Friday 11th and met up with Michael Thorley. We quickly stopped our conversation while we watched a male marsh harrier flying over the nearby saltmarsh by the Golfhouse. The bird was beautifully marked with its pale grey wings contrasting with black wing-tips. As it slowly passed over the saltings, a group of 50 brent geese took fright and headed quickly away. The harrier slowly headed out into the Colne and drifted south-east towards Colne Point.
Michael reported seeing a red-breasted merganser in the river.

Numbers of wildfowl on the grazing fields continue to drop and there are no flocks of brent geese or wigeon (other than a handful), left in the fields. Several small groups of shelduck can be seen along some of the hedgerows as they prospect nest sites. Three or four pairs of lapwing continue to display over the fields.

The first swallows for the site were seen flying low over the fields on Thursday with a pair swooping low over the pools. There was the colourful sight of a male yellow wagtail that landed briefly to feed with some pied wagtails. The bird soon took to the air and headed off. The first small tortoiseshell butterfly of the spring was seen in the car park on Thursday.

A Mediterranean gull was heard calling from the mudflats offshore from the park on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon a male marsh harrier was seen hunting over a wheat field near the East Mersea road.

START OF SPRING

It was a sunny but chilly start to Tuesday 8th but there were a couple of signs of the start of spring. Two swallows perched up on roadside wires along the East Mersea road by Blue Row. Although several swallows have been seen for some time now at the nearby Abberton Reservoir, these are the first ones I know of on the Island.

Later in the morning whilst walking around the park, I discovered a male redstart amongst the scattered bushes on the clifftop. Finding this colourful summer migrant in the park was a real bonus and again, another sign that spring had started.

The bird was first seen flying across the path showing off its bright orange tail as it headed into a bush. As it perched up, the tail could be seen quivering in typical redstart fashion. The chest and belly were bright orange, contrasting with dark grey upperparts and a black face. On the forehead was a small patch of white. The bird was watched flying from bush to bush, keeping low down as it paused to look for food.

Although the occasional redstart stops off briefly on Mersea each year, this is the first male here in spring for many years. The bird was not seen again despite searches in the late afternoon.

The only other summer migrant in the area was the now familiar singing chiffchaff by the pond, seen foraging in the willow bushes. Also at the pond were the usual 5 pochard and 10 tufted ducks, whilst nearby a fox snoozed in the sunshine.

In the grazing fields, pictured above, the main birds were 25 teal, 20 shoveler, pair of greylag geese, 15 shelduck and three pairs of lapwing. Skylarks and meadow pipits sang out loudly along from various places along the seawall. One avocet was on the mud near the Point.

In the park a trio of green woodpeckers passed over the car park, 3 adders and a common lizard were also seen.

PEACOCKS AND POCHARD

There was a real sense of spring in the air with lots of sunshine on Thursday 3rd. The first butterflies of the spring were seen at the park with 4 peacock butterflies and one comma seen in various spots. This peacock above is looking a little faded and worn round the edges after its hibernation.

Eight pochard were present at the park pond which is a notable count for the area, as there are never more than a couple of pairs seen here. Also present were the 10 tufted duck, so it was a good day for seeing diving ducks on the pond. Hopefully some of them will breed in the area later in the spring / early summer.
The mute swan has made her nest on one of the islands and will be thinking about laying eggs shortly.

One of the large sallow trees near the pond was alive with bees visiting the catkins. It was almost deafening standing beside the tree, hearing the continual buzzing from the bees. Most were honey bees but a few were mining bees and bumble bees too.

Also in the area of the sallow at the back of the pond was a chiffchaff singing loudly, with two others heard calling from nearby hedgerows.
Flying high over the pond were two adult Mediterranean gulls, calling to each other, their very white wings showing up well in the bright sunshine.

Seven adders were seen basking in their usual locations with a further two missing from their regular spots.

The moth trap was run through Wednesday night at the park and in the morning a slightly better haul than recent nights with about 30 moths of 11 species. The red chestnut pictured above, is quite common but it really lives up its name when seen in the sunshine.


This is one of two early thorns seen, a typical time of the year for this moth that holds its wings more like a butterfly. The only other new moth for the season was the shoulder stripe.

SPAWN BUCKET

It wasn't a complete shock to find a bucket of frog spawn left on my doorstep at the park on Wednesday 2nd, as I had been warned. The photo above shows some of the as yet, undeveloped spawn appearing as masses of tiny black dots in a thick mass of jelly. Having failed to persuade the lady from West Mersea to keep them in her garden pond, I offered them a refuge in the park pond.

The sunshine was warm enough to have the park 's sandy cliff swarming with thousands of mining bees. Sunny days in spring is the peak season for the bees and a close look at the cliff reveals thousands of tiny holes where the bees will have their young.

The sunshine also brought Nigel Cumings, one of the Essex experts in beetles, to the park. With great excitement he showed me a very rare beetle he had found at the bottom of the cliff. I shared his excitement but was a little bit disappointed at the rather tiny specimen in the container. No bigger than a capital letter in this written text, the little black ground beetle with a couple of orange spots on the abdomen scurried round and round while I stared at it through a hand-lens.

This little beetle is nationally scarce and is listed in the Red Data Book. It is apparently found in sandy areas in the south-east of the UK near the coast and in Essex, is only known from one or two other sites. I try to avoid using long complicated scientific names on this blog but I'm happy to supply the beetle's name on request for other beetle enthusiasts out there!

Nigel managed to find time to glance skywards and noted the first sand martin back from Africa along the cliff.

The sunshine brought five adders out in their usual spots in the country park.

Both male and female sparrowhawks were seen separately during the day flying over the park. At dusk a pair of little owls were watched hopping from telegraph post to post along Bromans Lane, as I drove along in the fading light.

The moth trap was checked on Wednesday morning and 18 moths of 8 species were noted, which was an average number considering the night sky was clear and chilly. The pinky-brown moth above was one of a few blossom underwings to be found, along with common quaker, hebrew character, March moth, small quaker, red chestnut, clouded drab and grey shoulder knot.

Martin Cock on Monday morning saw a buzzard fly over his garden in West Mersea and also noted by St. Peters, a wheatear, eider and a shag.